Thank goodness for one care worker's willingness to report another

This disturbing incident was reported in today's Sydney Morning Herald: Care worker slept in disabled woman's bed

A (paid) carer kicked a severely disabled woman out of bed and left her to walk around a group home unattended in the middle of the night while the carer changed into her own pyjamas, climbed into the woman's bed and went to sleep.

The residential carer was discovered in the morning, tucked up under a doona, by another support worker who was to replace her on the morning shift. The government-run home, in Sydney's north, houses between four and six disabled people at a time.

The NSW Department of Disability, Ageing and Home Care conducted an external investigation into the incident, which happened late last year, after the case worker who arrived for the morning shift found the disabled woman in the kitchen of the house.

Many readers will echo Andrew Constance's judgement:

The Opposition spokesman on disability, Andrew Constance, said it was probably an isolated incident, but the worker should not be allowed to return to overnight shifts.

Click here to read the full report, by the SMH's Alexandra Smith.